OxWIB runway organizers, models, and committee members. Image credited to Sarah Rigby.
Over 35 models, 15 fashion houses, and a selection of local designers gathered at Freud on Thursday 10th November 2022 to celebrate sustainable fashion. The businesses involved ranged from local Oxfordshire brands and student stylists, to widely known brands like Patagonia. This term, Oxford Women in Business (OxWIB), has focused on elevating businesses that are dedicated to eco-friendly practices. Those who featured in the runway show embodied OxWIB’s message that fashion and sustainability were not mutually exclusive. Titled ‘A Year in the Life of Oxford’, the show was split into the three parts, mirroring Oxford’s terms with featured looks from all the stylists and brands.
A wide variety of styles were displayed throughout the show, including a selection of handsewn items, thrifted pieces, and ready-to-wear clothing. Some could be characterised as avant-garde; others reflected everyday fashion. Hannah Porter, the organiser, says that the inspiration behind this runway was to show people that sustainable fashion is accessible and stylish. “I wanted to show that sustainable fashion is better for you and the environment, and make people think twice before fast fashion.” It is estimated that unused clothing around the world has a combined worth of £30 billion. Additionally, each year £140 million worth of clothes are believed to be thrown away. These unused clothing items have a detrimental impact on the environment and greatly contribute to the pressing issue of climate change.
Michaelmas
The show was opened by a very memorable beautiful blue butterfly dress, provided by Jewins Women2Women. They are a local charity shop which is also Oxfordshire’s first therapy centre for BAME women who have suffered domestic abuse. Ruth, the association’s representative at the show, explained to us how the shop sells clothes from many different countries. Their main source is Africa, but they also have clothing from Dubai, Turkey, Pakistan and the US.
(Jewins Women2Women’s dress. Image credited to Veronica Corielli.)
The dress was followed by two ponchos made by the brand Rainkiss, who create clothes out of 100% certified recycled polyester. One of these had an interesting black-and-blue pattern inspired by the style of Amsterdam-based illustrator Timo Kuilder. While the other was leopard print and had been styled with dark wide-set sunglasses. Overall the Michaelmas collection was gorgeous, and there was even more amazing fashion yet to come!
(Image credited to Veronica Corielli.)
Hilary
The Hilary collection particularly stood out because of the contribution of many young stylists. One of the main highlights of this collection was Daisy Royle’s trio of dresses. The concept behind her designs was extremely interesting, the square pattern was inspired by an aerial shot of the slums, to represent the tendency of people from disadvantaged backgrounds to reuse everything that they have access to. Daisy sourced all the materials for her dresses from scraps found in fabric bins in various charity shops and sewed everything together herself. She also added that the silhouettes of the dresses were inspired by lingerie. Daisy used the display of lingerie to push back against the pressure for women to cover up their bodies.
Amelia Wylam’s “Knitted into nature” bag followed soon after. The purse is part of a three-piece, an entirely biodegradable collection. Some of the materials used for these purses include: ‘handmade orange peel leather’ and ‘knitted and crocheted grass.’ These are entirely natural and biodegradable: the handles of the bags contain seed bombs which will grow into wild flowers, so when the bags are discarded they will transform into something just as beautiful. The collection was finished off by Rianna Baboo’s moss-embellished suit from her Moss Bros collection. The piece aims to tell “an optimistic story of Mother Nature fighting back… [as the] planet is being stripped to line the pockets of wealthy businessmen”. (Stylist Rianna Baboo (right) and the model (left) wearing her suit. Image credited to Sarah Rigby.)
Trinity
The Trinity segment was filled with a selection of beautiful ballgowns containing a variety of silhouettes, colours, and textures. Many of the dresses were from the Oxford Ball Gown Shop, a Facebook group for renting and reselling dresses, started by Alisa Chown in 2016. The group was started with the goal of reducing the environmental effects of the fashion industry and making the Oxford Ball scene more affordable for students. (Image credited to Sarah Rigby).
Renee Dawkins, one of the stylists in the Trinity segment, cites her grandmother Yvonne Dawkins who handmade gowns, as her style inspiration. Dawkins wanted to honour her late grandmother’s memory by giving her creations a second life. Her beautiful pieces were featured on models throughout the night.
(Image credited to Veronica Corielli.)
Some of our favourite looks from the night were styled by Anna Wood and Mariu Lee, students at the London College of Fashion. They used their skills in bespoke fashion to make stunning ball gowns inspired by thematic fusions of Greek mythology and climate change. Wood and Lee were inspired by the Fates that represent destiny and life. The three looks represent the inevitable decay of our oceans if we do not adopt eco-conscious practices.
(Image credited to Sarah Rigby.)
At the end of the runway show, President Caitlin MacClay of OxWIB congratulated all of the models, stylists, and OxWIB committee members. According to the OxWIB committee, the extensive planning took six months. It was evident that everyone’s hard work, talent, and passion truly paid off when the models hit the runway with these truly show-stopping looks.